System for integrated lighting control, configuration, and metric tracking from multiple locations

ABSTRACT

A mechanism for control and configuration of a lighting system from a user interface. For instance, a wall module designed as a user interface for a tenant to control the system may be implemented so as to be used not only to control the lighting system but also to configure it. The lighting system may involve a controller, circuits of lights, relays, motion and ambient detectors, scenes, schedules, and more. An additional user interface such as a wall module may be connected to the lighting system for control and configuration of the system.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/190,781, filed Jun. 23, 2016 which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/831,249, filed Mar. 14, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No.9,386,665, issued Jul. 5, 2016. U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/190,781, filed Jun. 23, 2016, is hereby incorporated by reference.U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/831,249, filed Mar. 14, 2013, ishereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure pertains to lighting systems, and particularly tocontrolling of lighting systems. More particularly, the disclosure alsopertains to configurations of lighting systems.

SUMMARY

The disclosure reveals a mechanism for control and configuration of alighting system from a user interface. For instance, a wall moduledesigned as a user interface for a tenant to control the system may beimplemented so as to be used not only to control the lighting system butalso to configure it. The lighting system may involve a controller,circuits of lights, relays, motion and ambient light detectors, scenes,schedules, and more. An additional user interface such as a wall modulemay be connected to the lighting system for control and configuration ofthe system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a wall module that may have multiple uses such aslighting control and configuration, and heating, ventilation and heatingcontrol;

FIG. 2 is a schematic of a present lighting control and configurationsystem;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example lighting layout of a space for controland configuration;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a configuration that may be used to implement thelighting layout for the space of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a list of example circuit settings and scenes;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a circuit configuration template;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a scene configuration template;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a schedule configuration template;

FIG. 9 is a diagram of example lighting schedules of scenes; and

FIG. 10 is a diagram of the present lighting control and configurationsystem incorporating components for obtaining metrics.

DESCRIPTION

The present system and approach may incorporate one or more processors,computers, controllers, user interfaces, wireless and/or wireconnections, and/or the like, in an implementation described and/orshown herein.

This description may provide one or more illustrative and specificexamples or ways of implementing the present system and approach. Theremay be numerous other examples or ways of implementing the system andapproach.

Related art lighting controls may have a separate configuration tool(other than the controls used to set the current lighting scene) forchanging some portion of the system configuration. User controls maytypically be located at convenient access locations, but theconfiguration tools may be located in a different location and requirespecial tools, access or setup to use. If a portion of the system needsto be configured that requires these special tools it may takesignificant time to change a configuration.

In the present approach of configuring a lighting system, one may changevirtually any configuration parameter at a tenant user interface. To doso, additional equipment would not necessarily be needed. The tenantuser interface may allow configuration changes to be made more quicklysince a special setup for configuring is not necessarily needed. Inaddition, more people may be authorized to make such changes sincespecialized equipment is not necessarily needed.

The present approach may be implemented by providing a user interface ata location where the lighting level is changed (i.e., the tenant userinterface) that is also capable of configuring virtually any parameterin the lighting system. The approach may involve having an integrateduser interface and configuration mechanism. The tenant in some cases mayhave limited configuration capabilities but an installer may have all ofthe available configuration capabilities.

Metrics may be observed at the user interface. Relays used forcontrolling lighting may have a finite lifespan, as may the lightingsources (e.g., bulbs, tubes, and so forth). The lifespan may be based onthe total time that a circuit has been on and/or the number of on/offcycles that the circuit has experienced. Without this information, usersmay be forced to replace components of the lighting system basedprimarily off the calendar time when the components have been installedor wait until they fail. This approach may cause the components to bereplaced prematurely, or to require urgent replacement when they fail,and thus involve increased expenses.

By tracking the total on-time for the circuit and the number ofconnecting cycles, the user may determine when to schedule replacementof the devices. Since no other outside equipment is necessarily neededto track the metrics of on-time and cycles, it may be easy for users toknow when to schedule maintenance work for the lighting system. Metricsmay incorporate a number of relay connections and disconnections foreach circuit, durations of conduction of a load of each circuit, anamount of the load for each duration, and other information as desired.

Blocks added to a pre-loaded system may track the number of cycles andtotal on-time for each circuit. The system may provide a mechanism toreset these values on a per-circuit basis upon certain maintenanceactivities.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a wall module 11 that may have multiple uses suchas control and configuration of lighting systems. Module 11 may also beused as a thermostat in a heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC) system. Module 11 may have a screen 12 with lower labels 13 forsoftkeys 14. Keys 15 may be for incrementing or setting values for adisplayed parameter. Selection of “SCENE TWO”, as shown, may be attainedwith keys 14 and 15. Various kinds of modes may be utilized for lightingcontrol and configuration.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a present lighting control and configurationsystem. A controller 20 may be connected to wall modules 11 and 21.Module 21 may be like module 11. A power supply 22 may be connected tocontroller 20. Controller 20 may be connected to a net or network 23 viaa JAVA™ application control engine (JACE™) 46. JAVA is a trademark ofOracle America, Inc. and JACE is a trademark of Tridium, Inc. Controland configuration of the lighting may be operated by the controller inconjunction with wall module 11 or 21. A user may be limited tocontrolling lighting at module 11 or 21 in some designs. In such a case,a lock-out of configuring a lighting arrangement may be present. A codemay be entered to remove the lock-out so a configuration mode can beaccessed at the module.

The lighting system may incorporate lights arranged in circuits of oneor more lights. A “light” may refer to one source, multiple sources oflight, a group of lights, and the like.

There may be N lights 25 in a circuit 24 according to the diagram ofFIG. 2. N may range from one to virtually any number. N may be differentfor various circuits. Often, there may be one light 25 in a circuit 24.Although a number of lights 25 may be referred to as one light 25. Theremay be M circuits 24 of lights 25 in a lighting arrangement. M may rangefrom one to virtually any number. Each circuit 24 of lights 25 may beturned on or off with a relay 26. There may be from one to R relays 26.R may range from one to virtually any number. Often, there may be aone-to-one correlation of a relay to a circuit. However, there can bemore than one relay per circuit in that, for example, each light withina group of lights covered by the circuit may have a relay.

A circuit 24 may have an associated motion sensor 27. Not necessarilyall of the circuits 24 will have a motion sensor 27 associated withthem. There may be from one to T motion sensors 27. T may range from oneto virtually any number.

One or more circuits 24 of lights 25 may be selected with one or morerelays 26. The circuits 24 of lights 25 may be situated in various areasof a building. Some circuits may be situated in the same area. Circuitsmay be configured and controlled at a wall module 11 or 21 by a user,and the control and configuration may be actualized at controller 20.Circuits 24 may be designated for various scenes at the wall modulewhich indicates designations for the scenes to controller 20. The scenesmay be scheduled by a user via the wall module 11 or 21 with signals tocontroller 20. A motion sensor 27 at an area of a circuit 24 of lights25 may be set to activate circuit 24 of lights 25 when motion isdetected in the area. If motion is not detected for a pre-determinedamount of time, the respective circuit 24 of lights may be turned off.

A circuit 24 may have an associated ambient light sensor 45 which mayindicate to controller 20 that light from at least one source issufficient to result in turning off or dimming a circuit 24 of one ormore lights 25 by controller 20. The thresholds, hystereses and timedelays for turning on or off a circuit 24 via the ambient light sensor45 may be determined by controller 24 and even configured at wall module11 or 21. Settings for thresholds, hystereses and time delays of onecircuit may be different than the thresholds, hystereses and time delaysfor another circuit even though just one ambient light sensor 45 is usedfor the two or more circuits 24.

At wall module 11 or 21, a user may configure the lighting arrangementfor a building. On display 12 there may be different kinds of dialogboxes, menus, and the like, or other ways, for configuring the lightingarrangement. The approach shown in FIGS. 4-9 may be merely one exampleamong several ways to make selections to effect a particularconfiguration of a lighting arrangement for a certain period of time.The approach here may be simplified or expanded in detail. Softkeys,increment keys, a keyboard on the display, a touch screen as a display,and other items may be presented in display 12 of module 11 or 21 forcontrolling and configuring the lighting arrangement.

FIG. 3 is a diagram 71 of a space 50 having an area 51 and area 52.Areas 51 and 52 may be delineated by a dashed line 53. The space may beentered through a door 59. Light 61 (L1A) and light 62 (L2A) may besituated in area 51 and light 64 (L4A) and light 65 (L5A) may besituated in area 52. Light 63 (L3A) may be situated approximately in thecenter of space 50. Lights 61-65 may each be single lights or groups ofa multitude of lights.

Motion detector 53 (M1) may be situated in area 51 and motion detector54 (M2) may be situated in area 52. An ambient light sensor 55 (ALS1)may be situated in area 51 where it may detect a combination of lightfrom the lights in area 51 and light through, for example, a west window57 of structure 50. Ambient light sensor 55 may detect a high level ofambient light from window 57 due to an afternoon sun and with a signalto the controller resulting in turning off lights 61 and 62 for a timethat the ambient light intensity is sufficient to maintain the offcondition of the lights.

An ambient light sensor 56 (ALS2) may be situated in area 52 where itmay detect a combination of light from the lights in area 52 and lightthrough an east window 58 of structure 50. Ambient light sensor 56 maydetect a high level of ambient light from window 58 due to a morning sunand with a signal to the controller resulting in turning off lights 64and 65 for a time that the ambient light intensity is sufficient tomaintain the off condition of the lights.

Motion detectors 53 and 54 may send signals to a controller like acontroller 20 in FIG. 2. Controller 20 may provide turn on signals tolights 61 and 62 relative to signals from motion detector 53. Controller20 may provide turn on signals to lights 64 and 65 relative to signalsfrom motion detector 54. The time out periods for lights 61 and 62 maybe determined separately, and could be different durations of time foreach of the lights even though the motion detection signal relative tothe lights is from the same motion detector 53. Likewise, the time outperiods for lights 64 and 65 may be determined separately, and could bedifferent durations of time for each of the lights even thought themotion detection signal for the lights is from the same motion detector54.

Controller 20 may provide turn off or turn on signals to lights 61 and62 relative to intensity signals from ambient light sensor 55.Controller 20 may provide turn off or turn on signals to lights 64 and65 relative to intensity signals from ambient light sensor 56. The turnoff and turn on signals to lights 61 and 62 may be determinedseparately, and could occur for different intensity levels of light foreach of the lights even thought the intensity signal is from the sameambient light sensor 55. Likewise, the turn off and turn on signals tolights 64 and 65 may be determined separately, and could occur fordifferent intensity levels of light for each of the lights even thoughtthe intensity signal is from the same ambient light sensor 56. In thepresent example, light 63 is not necessarily connected with respect toany of the motion detectors or ambient light sensors.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a schematic 72 that may be used to implement thelighting layout for space 50 of FIG. 3. Relays 1-5 and correspondinglights 61-65 may be a part of circuits 1-5, respectively. Each circuitmay be connected or disconnected relative to power with a relay. Eachcircuit may have one or more lights or groups of lights. Schematic 72may incorporate motion detectors 53 and 54 and ambient light sensors 55and 56.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a table 73 indicating an example of varioussettings for the components of circuits 1-5 of FIG. 4 and placing thesettings into a context of various scenes. Circuits 1-3 may be dimmableand circuits 4 and 5 are not necessarily dimmable. Scene off may havethe lights of circuits 1-3 at zero brightness and the lights of circuits4 and 5 turned off. Scene on may have the lights of circuits 1-3 at 100percent and the lights of circuits 4 and 5 turned on. These scenes maybe fixed. Scenes 1-5 may have a variety of selections for the circuitsas the present selections are illustrative examples. Scene 1 may have abrightness of 50 percent for circuits 1-3 and off for circuits 4 and 5.Scene 2 may have a brightness of zero percent, 25 percent and 40 percentfor circuits 1-3, respectively, an on for circuit 4 and an off forcircuit 5. Scene 3 may have a brightness of ten percent for circuits 1and 2, a brightness of 70 percent for circuit 3, and off for circuit 4and an on for circuit 5. Scene 4 may have a brightness of 60 percent forcircuit 1, zero percent for circuit 2, 90 percent for circuit 3, an onfor circuit 4 and an on for circuit 5. Scene 5 may have a brightness of100 percent for circuit 1, 40 percent foe circuit 2, zero percent forcircuit 3, and an off for circuits 4 and 5. There may be more or lesscircuits and scenes.

Some of the motion detectors may have different time outs. For instance,motion detector 53 may have a time out of ten minutes. Motion detector54 may have a time out of 15 minutes.

There may be ambient light sensors. Ambient light sensor 55 may indicatethat light from, for instance, another source, such as the sun, may showthat certain lights are not necessarily needed. A signal from an ambientlight sensor to controller 20 may indicate that a certain light orlights are no longer needed and thus turned off, or that the brightnessof the light or lights may be dimmed in view of another source of light,such as the sun.

A setting of an ambient light sensor may be set by controller 20 inresponse to a signal indicating detected lumens or a percentage ofincrease in ambient light of brightness over a predetermined setting ofbrightness in an area covered by lighting of one or more circuits. Thesame ambient light sensor may be used for the several circuits where thelighting change of each circuit may be affected with a different settingof lumens or percentage, as provided from controller 20. Controller 20may also incorporate an appropriate hysteresis for each setting.

Configuring may be effected by entering information in templates asviewed in display 12 of module 11 or 21. FIG. 6 is a diagram of acircuit configuration template 31. Separate circuits may be configuredfor each light or grouping of lights 25. Circuits incorporating variousarrangements of groupings of lights with different settings, such asdimming, may be made with template 31.

Template 31, in some approaches of configuring, might not necessarily beused or needed although it may be used here for illustrative purposes. Acircuit may be designated with a number such as 1, 2 or so on. Circuits24 of lights 25 may be designated. The circuits may each have virtuallyany number of lights situated in the same area or various areas. Often,a circuit 24 may consist of or be regarded as revealing one light 25;however, in some instances, the one light may represent more than onelight such as an array of lights.

A dimming or dim percentage may be designated. Motion detector 27 may bedesignated as having a number of minutes for non-motion time-out or bedesignated as off in conjunction with controller 20 and wall module 11or 21. Or there may not necessarily be a motion detector. A dimpercentage may be set in conjunction with controller 20 and wall module11 or 21 where lights 25 are not needed to operate at their fully ratedbrightness. Or a circuit may not necessarily be dimmable. There may alsobe an ambient light detector which may be set to turn off a certainlights if light from, for example, a window or a skylight is sufficientin the particular area where the lights are located. A room or space litup well with outdoor light and at the same time having many lights onmay appear to be an inefficient use of energy. When supplemental lightdecreases or becomes absent, a signal from the ambient light detector tocontroller 20 may result in certain in certain lights being turned on.

A time delay may be built in for the light ambient detector inconjunction with controller and wall module 11 or 21 to account forsudden changes in significant light levels. Various designs may beimplemented to satisfy particular lighting desires for a building. Theambient light detector may be set to be off instead, thus allowing thelights to remain on despite supplemental or other light sources. Orthere may not necessarily be an ambient light detector.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a scene configuration template 33, which mayappear on display 12. A scene number may be designated, such as, forexample, one (1). Circuit nos., such as those listed in table 32 of FIG.5, may be indicated in template 33 for a configuration of the respectivescene.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a schedule configuration template 35 forcontrolling lighting in various areas of a building. A period of timemay be selected, such as a particular day or days, week, month or year.For instance, a period 1 may be selected. Other periods may be selected.For example, a period “W”, which represents day 1, 2, and so on, may beselected. For an illustrative instance, day 1 of period W may beinserted in template 35. Also, a time from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM may beinserted and a scene number 4 may be inserted in template 35. Theconfiguration insertions, designations or selections may be made atdisplay 12 of module 11 for entry into controller 20. Scenes may beentered for other times of the day or days. If no scenes are entered forthe times of the day or days, one or more default scenes may beautomatically entered.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of lighting schedules 44 for the various times ofdays of a period. A period may be from a first day to a day X. X mayrange from one to virtually any desired number. The period mayincorporate a day or days, a weekend, a week, a month, a year, or otherdesignated periods. The number of periods may range from one to W. InFIG. 9, W may range from two to virtually any desired number. Thedescribed example time entry of template 35 of FIG. 8 for a scene 4 maybe from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM for day 1 in period W. Schedule configurationtemplate 35 of FIG. 8 may be used to schedule the scenes listed in FIG.5.

Wall module 11 or 21, controller 20, and a relay action indicator 41, asshown in the diagram of FIG. 10, may be utilized to determine metricssuch as the amount of time that lights 25 of the lighting arrangementhave been on and the number of times that the relay has switched on. Themetrics, along with information from net 23, such as lifetimes of lights25 and relays 26 may be calculated with controller 20. Maintenanceschedules may be developed by controller 20. The schedules may indicatewhen lights 25 and relay 26 should be replaced. Such maintenance mayreduce costs in that lights 25 and relays 26 could be replaced beforethey fail. Disruption of activity, in a lighted area due to a failedrelay 26 or light 25, may be costly in terms of the disruption of workin the corresponding lighted area and emergency arrival of one or morepersonnel for a replacement of relay 26 or light 25. With a calculatedmaintenance schedule, components such as relays 26 and lights 25 may be,for example, replaced in groups before any failures occur. The cost ofmaintenance per component may be much less than the replacement cost foran individual failed component.

Even though an amount of time that a circuit 24 of lights 25 is on maybe determined by monitoring relay 26 with relay action indicator 41,monitoring current with a current meter 42, as shown in the diagram ofFIG. 13, may provide a more accurate estimation of lifetimes of lights25 with an assumption that the lights which are dimmed use less currentand thus may last longer than those which are not dimmed. A costreduction due to current monitoring may result in extending the time duefor a scheduled replacement of lights 25. Applying the same rationalefor relays 26 conducting less current may extend the time due for ascheduled replacement of relays 26.

To recap, an integrated lighting control and configuration system for abuilding, may incorporate a controller, a tenant user wall moduleconnected to the controller, one or more circuits having one or morelights, one or more relays connected the one or more circuits,respectively, and to the controller, and one or more scenesincorporating the one or more circuits. Some of the one or more circuitsof the one or more scenes may be configured at the tenant user wallmodule.

The system may further incorporate a motion detector associated with oneor more circuits. Upon detection by the motion detector of a person oran object in an area of the one or more lights of one or more circuits,the one or more lights of the one or more circuits may be turned on. Theone or more lights of the one or more circuits may be turned off after apredetermined period subsequent to a most recent detection of motion bythe motion detector of a person or an object.

A predetermined period of time of a motion detector for one circuit maybe different than a predetermined period of time of the same motiondetector for another circuit. Some of the one or more circuits may beconnected to the controller that has a dimmer setting for apredetermined value of brightness in that when one or more lights of theone or more circuits are emitting light, the one or more lights emitlight at the predetermined value of brightness that is equal to or lessthan a maximum brightness of the one or more lights. The predeterminedvalue of brightness may be determined at the tenant user wall module.

The system may further incorporate an ambient light detector in an areaof the one or more lights of the one or more circuits. If the ambientlight detector detects ambient light, in an area of the light or lightsof the one or more circuits, having a value of brightness greater than apredetermined value of brightness, then some of the one or more lightsof the one or more of circuits may be dimmed or turned off.

The system may further incorporate an ambient light detector in an areaof one or more lights of two or more circuits. If the ambient lightdetector detects ambient light, in the area of one or more lights of oneof the two or more circuits, having a value greater than a firstpredetermined value of brightness, then the one or more lights of theone of the two or more of circuits may be dimmed or turned off. If theambient light detector detects ambient light in an area of one or morelights of another one of the two or more circuits, having a valuegreater than a second predetermined value of brightness, then the one ormore lights of the other one of the two or more of circuits may bedimmed or turned off. The second predetermined value may be differentthan the first predetermined value.

The system may further incorporate a relay action indicator connected tothe one or more relays connected to the one or more circuits,respectively, and to the controller. The relay action indicator maycount a number of times that the one or more relays switch.

A maximum of a number of times that the one or more relays can switchfor a lifetime of the one or more relays may be determined. The numberof times that the one or more relays have switched may indicate anamount of lifetime of the one or more relays expended. A schedule formaintenance or replacement of the one or more relays before an end ofthe lifetime of the one or more relays may be determined.

The one or more scenes may be placed in a schedule at the tenant userwall module via the controller. A schedule may indicate each portion ofa time period when one of the one or more scenes incorporates one ormore circuits connected to a power source.

A control and configuration apparatus for a lighting system mayincorporate one or more tenant user interfaces, a controller connectedto the one or more tenant user interfaces and to one or more relays, oneor more circuits of one or more lights connected to the one or morerelays, respectively, and one or more motion detectors situated in anarea of the one or more lights of the one or more circuits. At the oneor more tenant user interfaces, some of the one or more circuits oflights may be configurable relative to non-motion turn off durations ofthe one or more motion detectors. One or more scenes may incorporate oneor more circuits of lights.

A motion detector of the one or more motion detectors may be proximateto an area of one or more lights of two or more circuits. The motiondetector may be connected to the controller and the controller mayprovide non-motion time-out durations for each of the two or morecircuits and activate the respective relays accordingly for turning onand off the circuits in response to a presence and absence of motiondetection, respectively. The non-motion time-out durations for each ofthe two or more circuits may be different from one another.

At the one or more tenant user interfaces, the one or more motiondetectors may be configurable in terms of non-motion time-out durationsat the controller via the one or more tenant user interfaces in terms ofnon-motion time-out durations.

A dimming of one or more circuits of lights may be determined by aselection at the tenant user interface, provided to the controller.

A schedule may be configured with the one or more scenes, and the one ormore scenes may be activated according to the schedule. The schedule maybe provided in terms of minutes, hours, days, weeks, and/or months, foractivating the one or more scenes.

An approach, for controlling and configuring a lighting arrangement fora building, may incorporate providing one or more circuits of lights,connecting each of the one or more circuits to a controller via one ormore relays, and configuring one or more scenes with the one or morecircuits at a user control module via corresponding signals to thecontroller.

The approach may further incorporate providing a motion detectorsituated in an area of lights of two or more circuits, respectively.Non-motion time-out periods from the controller for the motion detectorfor each circuit may be set at the user control module. The time-outperiods for the two or more circuits may differ from one another.

The approach may further incorporate providing power having a dimmingeffect on the lights of the one or more circuits, respectively. Thedimming effect on the lights of the one or more circuits may be set atthe user control module.

The approach may further incorporate providing one or more relay actionindicators connected to the one or more relays and the controller. Theone or more relay action indicators may count a number of connectingactions and measure durations of connections of the one or more relaysto power, over a pre-determined period of time.

The approach may further incorporate obtaining lifetime informationabout the lights of the one or more circuits, calculating estimatedlifetimes for the lights of the one or more circuits from the number ofconnecting actions and durations of connections of the one or morerelays to power, over a pre-determined period of time, and from thelifetime information, and scheduling maintenance incorporatingreplacement of the lights in the one or more circuits before an end oftheir estimated lifetimes.

The approach may further incorporate obtaining lifetime information atthe user control module via the controller and the net about the relaysof the one or more circuits, calculating estimated lifetimes for therelays in the one or more circuits from a number of connecting actionsand durations of connections over a pre-determined period of time andfrom the lifetime information, and scheduling maintenance incorporatingreplacement or refurbishment of the relays in the one or more circuitsbefore an end of their estimated lifetimes.

The approach may further incorporate configuring a lighting schedule byincorporating the one or more scenes, with the controller via the usercontrol module. The scenes may be selected at the user control modulefor placement in the lighting schedule.

In the present specification, some of the matter may be of ahypothetical or prophetic nature although stated in another manner ortense.

Although the present system and/or approach has been described withrespect to at least one illustrative example, many variations andmodifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art uponreading the specification. It is therefore the intention that theappended claims be interpreted as broadly as possible in view of therelated art to include all such variations and modifications.

What is claimed is:
 1. An integrated lighting control and configurationsystem for a building, comprising: a controller having a control modeaccessible to a first user and a configuration mode accessible to asecond user; a user wall module connected to the controller; one or morecircuits having one or more lights; one or more relays connected the oneor more circuits, respectively, and to the controller; and a relayaction indicator connected to the one or more relays connected to theone or more circuits, respectively, and to the controller; and whereinthe relay action indicator counts a number of times that the one or morerelays switch.
 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a monitoringmechanism configured to determine an amount of time the one or morelights have been on.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein a code is enteredto initiate the configuration mode.
 4. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising: a motion detector associated with at least one circuit ofthe one or more circuits; and wherein: upon a detection by the motiondetector of a person or an object in an area of the one or more lightsof the at least one circuit, the one or more lights of at least onecircuit are turned on; and the one or more lights of the at least onecircuit are turned off after a predetermined period subsequent to a mostrecent detection of motion by the motion detector of a person or anobject.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein a predetermined period of timeof a motion detector for a first circuit of the at least one circuit canbe different than a predetermined period of time of the same motiondetector for another circuit of the at least one circuit.
 6. The systemof claim 1, wherein the controller has a dimmer setting for apredetermined value of brightness in that when one or more lights of theone or more circuits are emitting light, the one or more lights emitlight at the predetermined value of brightness that is equal to or lessthan a maximum brightness of the one or more lights.
 7. The system ofclaim 6, wherein the predetermined value of brightness is configured atthe user interface.
 8. The system of claim 1, further comprising: anambient light detector in an area of the one or more lights of the atleast one circuit; and wherein if the ambient light detector detectsambient light in an area of the light or lights of the at least onecircuit having a value of brightness greater than a predetermined valueof brightness, then some of the one or more lights of the at least onecircuit are dimmed or turned off.
 9. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising: an ambient light detector in an area of one or more lightsof two or more circuits; wherein: if the ambient light detector detectsambient light in the area of one or more lights of one of the two ormore circuits having a value greater than a first predetermined value ofbrightness, then the one or more lights of the one of the two or more ofcircuits are dimmed or turned off; if the ambient light detector detectsambient light in an area of one or more lights of another one of the twoor more circuits having a value greater than a second predeterminedvalue of brightness, then the one or more lights of the other one of thetwo or more of circuits are dimmed or turned off; and the secondpredetermined value can be different than the first predetermined value.10. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one sceneincluding configurations of the one or more lights of the one or morecircuits.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one scene isconfigured at the user interface via the controller.
 12. The system ofclaim 1, wherein: a maximum of a number of times that the one or morerelays can switch for a lifetime of the one or more relays isdetermined; the number of times that the one or more relays haveswitched indicates an amount of lifetime of the one or more relaysexpended; and a schedule for maintenance or replacement of the one ormore relays before an end of the lifetime of the one or more relays isdetermined.
 13. A control and configuration apparatus for a lightingsystem, comprising: two or more user interfaces; a controller connectedto each of the two or more tenant user interfaces and to two or morerelays, the controller having a control mode accessible to a first userand a configuration mode accessible to a second user; two or morecircuits of one or more lights connected to the two or more relays,respectively; two or more motion detectors situated in an area of theone or more lights of the two or more circuits; and a monitoringmechanism configured to determine one or more metrics of the at leastone circuit; and wherein at the two or more user interfaces, some of thetwo or more circuits of lights are configurable in the configurationmode relative to non-motion turn off durations of the two or more motiondetectors using a template viewed on a display of the two or more tenantuser interfaces.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the monitoringmechanism is configured to count a number of times that the at two ormore relays switch on and/or off.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13, whereinthe monitoring mechanism is configured to determine an amount of timethe one or more lights have been on.
 16. The apparatus of claim 13,wherein some of the two or more circuits of lights are dimmable via atleast one of the two or more user interfaces.
 17. The apparatus of claim13, wherein the two or more circuits are configurable to follow aschedule include on/off times and light intensities.
 18. A method forcontrolling and configuring a lighting arrangement for a building,comprising: providing one or more circuits of lights; connecting each ofthe one or more circuits to a controller via one or more relays;configuring one or more scenes with the one or more circuits at a usercontrol module, the user control module operably coupled to thecontroller; and providing a monitoring mechanism connected to the one ormore relays and the controller; and wherein: the monitoring mechanism isconfigured to determine one or more metrics of the one or more circuits;and a schedule for maintenance or replacement of a component of the oneor more circuits is determined based on the one or more metrics of theone or more circuits.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the one ormore metrics is a number of times that the one or more relays have beenswitched.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the one or more metrics isan amount of time the one or more circuits of lights have been on.